The Merman in the Rocks
by Ertal77
Summary: Makoto has an unusual encounter when he is swimming near a rocky island, close to his small town.
1. Chapter 1

Makoto is used to the strange rounds of the ocean, the ones that you can hear when have been swimming for a while, eyes squinted, ear canals full of water, the setting sun glowing more than shining at his back. After a while, the roar of the waves almost disappear and becomes white noise, his mind turns blank, too, and there is only peace, the strong beatings of his own heart, the next armful that will cut the density of water; not with violence but with elegance, with grace, as in a dance. Makoto can be doing it for hours.

But although he is used to the bubbling and scratchy sounds that sometimes erupt from the white noise of the waves, he could swear that lately those natural odd sounds resemble voices. All that last week he has been hearing a pitched voice, giggling and murmuring half formed bubbly words, nothing that he could understand, but that has made him curious. He is aware that he is now swimming with his senses sharp and focused on trying to hear again that voice. He needs to know if they are really words, arriving to him by who knows what strange sound distortion, or if all of this is only a trick of his own imagination. Realising this somehow destroys his mood, and he retreats to the narrow shore of the rock island located a mile from the coast. He will climb the sharp rocks and sit down to watch the lights of the harbour. The streetlamps of the promenade will be lit in less than half an hour, according to the position of the sun in the sky, and the small town will look at its best. That will be relaxing, and will make do for the lack of blank mind swimming that Makoto needed today. Although he is a peaceful and easygoing person, sometimes the stress of the final exams, taking care of his little siblings and, above all, trying to decide what he is going to do with his future, with the end of prep school so close now… is too much for him.

The small island is U shaped, and the only accessible part of it is a narrow stony beach in the inner side. He reaches the shore, but he never accomplishes his intention of climbing up the rocks, because at the very moment the pitched voice says, quite clearly now:

"He is quite good at swimming, isn't he?"

Is the voice talking to him? Or about him? Makoto searches around with his eyes, but he can't see anybody in the island. Perhaps at the other side of the rocks, perhaps someone is perched on the outer side facing the ocean (because he has come from the harbour-oriented side of the island, and nobody was there).

"…And what an impressive back! Have you seen those shoulders?"

If the voice is talking with someone, Makoto can't hear any answer. But the one-sided conversation follows up:

"Of course I like him! Because I have EYES!"

And then, at last, Makoto thinks he hears another voice, a grumpy low murmur, with the same bubbly quality as the first voice. After a moment, although he can't understand all the words, he more or less catches that the grumpy voice is accusing the high pitched one of liking everything that moves. The first voice mimics the grumpy words and then giggles. Makoto turns and his gaze sweeps the whole inner island, desperate to find the owners of those voices. The second voice raises a bit his tone, exclaiming:

"No! Wait!"

And suddenly there's a splash directly behind Makoto. When he turns there's a blond head smiling over the surface of the water; it's a kid, a teenage guy perhaps three or four years younger than Makoto. Where has he come from? There wasn't anybody at sight, and Makoto would have heard him if he had approached the island swimming. All that he can see is the boy's face and hair, but is plain obvious that he isn't wearing any diving equipment. The boy is smiling widely, and his eyes are a strange rosy-violet colour. Before Makoto can decide what to say to the strange kid, he realises the boy is checking him blatantly, from head to toes, and his smile turns into a smirk that reaches his eyes with a mischievous glint. _OK, add two or three years to his age,_ Makoto thought, feeling a bit alarmed.

What happens next is still stranger and Makoto finds it difficult to accept what he is seeing: there's a strong splash behind the kid, at the place where his legs and feet should be, and a big fishtail sticks out off the water before plunging again. Only that Makoto's eyes are now focused in the silvery blue glow of the fishtail scales that undulate behind the blonde boy. The same boy who comes closer to him, giggling at his astonishment.

"Don't be afraid…" he says, and it's the pitched voice of before, free of the bubbly quality now that he is out the water and mere inches from Makoto.

The boy's torso is out of the water, too, and Makoto can't help admiring the beauty of the well shaped muscles and the tanned but fair skin. His movements are deliberate and graceful, and he is evidently aware of the effect he is causing on Makoto, because his smile widens and his hand reaches to touch his cheek. Makoto leans back in the rocks, trying to avoid the touch, but his eyes keep pinned in the boy's violet ones, beautiful, alluring eyes… Before he can react and snap out of it, the boy's lips are on his, while that fishtail wriggles and Makoto can't take his eyes off the silvery scales, glowing in the golden weak light of the setting sun. The blonde boy smirks in his kiss, and his tongue pokes Makoto's lips, forcing them to open slightly, while one of his arms winds up Makoto's shoulder and the other hand caresses his cheek. He can't deny that it feels surprisingly good.

While a _I shouldn't be doing this_ thought nudges his mind, Makoto finds himself drawn into the kiss, closing his eyes and embracing the slender but strong body of the boy, inhaling his salty scent, feeling rivulets of water down his own face, probably coming from the boy's wet locks. The boy's hold turns stronger, his hands exploring Makoto's upper body but definitely grabbing him and _pulling_. His mind takes a while in register that movement. _Pulled? Where? Why?_ He opens his eyes and his body, previously mostly on top of the stony shore, is now inside the water again. The kid is still snogging him, and while it's really pleasurable, Makoto is well aware now of the quick movements of the tail, which is dragging them further from the shore and inside the sea. When he tries to part from the kiss, the boy's mouth latches on to his again. Makoto struggles, starting to panic, seeing that they are now almost out of the protective surrounding of the rocky island, and the young boy is still holding him tight, one hand on his nape and the other around his waist, and meanwhile swimming with his tail, hauling Makoto deeper and deeper into the ocean, until the moment he was dreading arrives, and the half fish boy drags Makoto downwards, his tail dancing around them, and his tongue still savouring every corner of Makoto's mouth.

He tries to keep a cool head and not to panic. He closes his mouth and holds his breath, and pushes the boy's torso from him with all his might. The boy's reaction is just laughing at him, and even down the water Makoto can hear him, can hear his giggle and his words:

"Don't be silly! Why doing that? Aren't you enjoying the kiss?"

And then he tries to join their mouths again. Desperate, knowing that he doesn't have much time left, Makoto opens his mouth to the merman boy, inviting, and sucks all the air he can get from him, before closing his lips again and trying to impulse himself upwards, above the ocean's surface. The boy gasps, breathless, but doesn't let him go.

"Nagisa! That's enough, he's drowning!"

Before Makoto loses the battle to consciousness, he hears the other voice again, the bubbly grumpy one, and the arms that chain him to the water loosen at last.

He awakes to the unpleasant sensation of air entering his mouth by sheer force. He tries to lean back, to move his head, to push the unwelcome source of air, but he ends coughing and finally retching. He curls onto his side and vomits water and more water, feeling his stomach cramp and his lungs aching hard.

_But I'm alive._

When he can bear to open his eyes, he almost closes them again at once. There's a pair of incredibly gorgeous eyes mere inches from his, slanted and the same colour of the ocean. Makoto tries to focus on his breath, still laboured and painful, trying to regain an easy rhythm that doesn't make his lungs and his trachea hurt with the effort. He realises he is on the rocky shore again, and the sharp stones are digging in his back, so he sits up, feeling awkward and uncomfortable with the owner of those ocean blue eyes still staring at him with an inquisitive gaze. When he can breathe again, he dares to study the young man in turn: one quick look behind him confirms what he was half expecting; that is, that he is not a young man, but a young _mer_man. Dark locks frame a face as handsome as those eyes, and the bare torso and arms on top of the silver fishtail are slender and delicate, but with defined muscles underneath. All in all, Makoto decides that he's the most beautiful creature he's ever seen.

After what seems ages, and without quitting staring at Makoto, the young merman says:

"Are you alright? I'm very sorry, Nagisa is not evil, he's just young and naughty…"

"I just wanted a kiss!" the pitched voice arrives from behind the dark-haired merman, and when Makoto looks there, he can see again the blonde boy, floating near the shore, smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me. I didn't intend to almost drown you…"

Makoto raises a hand in an "it's alright" gesture, but a fit of coughing bursts suddenly, and he spends the next couple of minutes coughing and grabbing his aching throat. The blonde merman looks at Makoto with concern, but the other one glares at him and the younger boy finally mutters a goodbye and swims away.

"Better?"

Makoto nods, feeling that he can finally breathe with little to no pain.

"Thank you. My name is Makoto Tachibana, by the way."

He doubts about what social nicety should he use, because _pleased to meet you_ sounds a bit weird in this situation, but he should definitely add something else… Or not, because the gorgeous creature just nods but remains silent. At last, Makoto asks:

"What's your name?"

The merman turns to look into the open waters beyond the rocky island, and Makoto is afraid that he has already fulfilled his curiosity, examining him at his leisure for minutes, and now he has grown tired of him and is ready to go.

"You can call me Haru", the young merman says softly, his voice a mere whisper over the ever present sound of the waves. He turns again to face Makoto, but his face is still blank and faraway, his inquisitive eyes now glowing with an impatient glint. "Come on, I will help you to arrive to the coast."

And he takes Makoto's hand and pulls him to the water again. Makoto feels his limbs numbed, at first, but the cool water soon awakes them, and he thinks he can swim to the town beach on his own without difficulty. But Haru is holding him very close, an arm around his back, keeping him over the water by his armpit, and swimming only with one arm and his strange fish tail.

The sun is almost kissing the horizon, dying the sky in beautiful pink and peach colours, and Makoto looks at the empty beach (it's still springtime, after all), and he decides he doesn't want to say goodbye to Haru so soon. He looks at the merman, at the same time that Haru turns to look at him in the eye, and he is mesmerized again, getting easily lost in the merman's gaze. He barely notices it when Haru stops swimming and simply rests there, floating in the golden light, their eyes locked. He only realises they are not advancing towards the coast anymore when Haru turns to look the sunset.

"We still have a moment before the sky turns dark", the merman whispers. "I'll help you to the beach when the sun sets, because I don't want to risk being seen."

Makoto quickly calculates they have around five minutes before the sun hides completely. Only five minutes more of the sliding touch of smooth skin against his. He can feel his heart pounding madly, and he is usually shy, but won't have the chance to talk to mermen soon again, so he better says something.

"I have heard stories about your kinfolk, but I have never found someone who had actually met you, you know?" he comments. Haru looks at him for a moment, curious again, but he turns to watch the sunset quickly.

"Some of my folk like to come to the rocky island from time to time", he explains. "To… watch the humans, your harbour and the fishermen's boats, and your houses too, I suppose."

"Do you like to watch us?" Makoto asks, curious.

"No."

"Oh". Makoto is disappointed. "I thought you would be curious about us". The merman simply shrugs, without looking at him, and Makoto sighs. "We are not so interesting, after all."

"It's not that, your people are very interesting. It's only that I personally don't like to come here to watch the boats."

Makoto smiles lightly.

"What do you like doing, then?"

"Swimming."

"Mmmmm… But you live in the sea, you must do that all the time. Are there more things to do in the ocean?"

"Not many, now that I think of it", Haru admits, frowning.

"You never grow tired of it?"

The merman turns and looks at Makoto as if he had said a sacrilege.

"Of course not!"

Makoto tries to apologise with his gaze. The sky is mostly dark blue now, the first stars glistening like small diamonds, but the moon is nowhere to be seen. The harbour looks cheerful, with all the lights on and some couples strolling by the promenade, but the beach is dark and empty. Nobody will see them if they swim towards it now, so the moment has arrived. Before Haru can open his mouth to say so, Makoto hurries to say:

"I am, in fact, very curious about your folk. Would you mind to tell me more? I promise I won't tell anything to anybody, you can trust me!"

Haru looks to the sun, a mere inch of yellow light on the horizon, as if meaning they have no time left, but Makoto adds:

"I'm not meaning now, of course, but tomorrow? Or another day. We could meet tomorrow at sunset inside the rocky island again. If… if you… if you are amenable, of course", he stutters a bit in the end, but it's said now, and Makoto feels great for having taken the chance. He feels so great and confident that he smiles widely to Haru, who, in turn, seems more than a bit puzzled, and Makoto can almost swear, although the light now is so weak that he can't properly see it, than Haru is watching him with that inquisitive gaze again. He feels him nod in agreement, and suddenly Haru's arms let them go.

"I think you can arrive to the beach on your own now that you have rested."

"Yes. I'm really grateful, Haru, thank you very much. See you tomorrow?"

He hasn't intended it as a question, but the merman nods again, with any doubt, and Makoto's heart starts pounding fast again, as he turns and swims the short distance to the beach.

When he arrives to the shore, he spends some minutes scrutinizing the horizon, vainly, searching for a silvery glow. He sits on the sand, bracing his knees, looking at the immensity of the dark blue over him, the darkness that is almost sad without a moon, that swallows the black waters of the ocean and the slender creatures that swim beneath the waves.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day passes in a blur, classes, library and swimming club mixing on Makoto's head, while hours stretch and feel longer and evening seems so, so far away... until suddenly it's the time, and Makoto has to run down the stairs leading to the beach, afraid that Haru will arrive to their date first, get bored and go away. The beach is empty this evening, too, as the few people who came to enjoy the sun have left hours ago. Makoto folds his clothes and hides them between two rocks, where the young man knows they are concealed and will be there later for him to find. He only keeps a waterproof fanny pack, fastens it to his waist and steps in the water.

He usually takes his time enjoying the foamy waves, letting them toy around his calves, but today is special and he simply dives in and swims towards the rocky island. When he arrives to the inner stony beach, the sun is almost setting, and the sky has a magical aura. Or perhaps is only his imagination, because the view of a sparkling silvery fishtail can definitely make Makoto's mind turn tricky. Because yes, Haru is there, lying down on the stones, with his tail worming in the water and his ocean blue eyes staring at Makoto with gravity. Makoto can't help to smile widely at the sight.

He greets the merman, feeling a bit awkward, and sits by his side. Haru's eyes are inquisitive, and never leave the young man's face. Makoto feels himself blush, cursing innerly. _Does he not know that is not polite staring like that?_, he thoughts, embarrassed. He unzips his fanny pack and takes out a book, but when he offers it to Haru, the merman doesn't seem very impressed: one quick glance, and stares at Makoto's face again. _You are not making it easier for me, dear merman_.

"I… I thought…" he starts, but he stutters and decides to start again, sighing. Haru has the decency to turn his piercing eyes to the sea. "I thought that you might be interested in our people, in turn. And… as you love the ocean… I thought…"

Haru looks at him again, but now he seems a bit impatient.

"What is that thing that you have brought?"

"Ah, this, I was arriving to it, yes… It's a book." Haru reaches out, hesitant, and finally dares to touch the hard cover. Makoto smiles and opens the book, going for the pages he has previously marked. "It's a poetry book". Haru mouths the word: "_poetry_", in silence, as in strangeness, and Makoto hurries to add: "Don't worry about that. But I wanted to read you some words human poets have used to describe the ocean."

The merman opens his eyes in disbelief, and Makoto understands that the young man is thinking about how come human people could describe the ocean, when they don't know the water the way merpeople do, in deep, and perhaps this is an awful idea after all; Makoto thought it was too lame when he was at the library, but somehow it had seem a good idea last night. But now he has no more options, so he opens the book by one of the bookmarks and reads three haikus to the gorgeous merman.

"_On the winter sea_

_Seagulls float_

_Like fallen leaves_."

"_How wild the sea is_

_And over Sado Island_

_The River of Heaven_."

"_Autumn full moon,_

_The tides slosh and foam_

_coming in_."

Haru has come closer and peeks over Makoto's shoulder. He points to the words in the other page.

"Read me that one."

Makoto complies.

"It's not about the sea, but about the moon… It says:

_Viewing the moon._

_No one at the party_

_Has such a beautiful face_."

The merman smiles.

"That's quite true… Let me see this thing."

"Book."

"Whatever."

"OK, but take care, it's not mine, I lent it from the school library…"

The merman turns the pages, like if he was looking for something, and he seems disappointed when he arrives at the end. Makoto wonders what he can be looking for; he hasn't paid any attention to the scarce illustrations. With a loud sigh, Haru returns him the book.

"It only has words."

Makoto can't help but chuckle.

"Of course, it's a book! It just has words and more words!" Haru turns again to look at the sea, at the way the waves clash against the rocks. "It's a book about classical Japanese poetry, I chose some haikus that talked about the sea, because they are very short and I thought you might find them nice…"

"But they are only words", Haru says, again with an annoyed tone that makes Makoto feel embarrassed.

"Sorry, I see you don't like words that much", he says, tentatively. "Are all the merpeople like that?"

Haru frowns, still annoyed.

"There's all kind of merpeople. Nagisa is very talkative; perhaps you should ask him your questions about our folk…"

And then he is already inside the sea, and Makoto jumps after him and grabs his arm, feeling like walking in swampy waters.

"Wait! No, sorry! I want to hear from you… I don't mind if you don't like to talk much. We can swim around the island, together; would you like that?"

The merman looks pleasantly surprised. He nods and starts swimming, but stops and waits for Makoto at the entrance of the island. In the end, they swim together until the sky is pitch black, sometimes racing, sometimes in companionably laziness. They talk, a bit, Makoto adding questions just for the sake of keeping Haru's company. He founds out the merpeople's site is about a mile from the rocky island, that they are few, less than twenty individuals, both genders (but Nagisa's behaviour tells Makoto that genders are not really important for them; he doesn't dare to ask, though).

"And what do you eat?"

"Little fishes and algae, of course."

"Mmmm… Now that I think of it, that one was really obvious…"

He smiles at Haru in the dark, but the other boy remains serious. _He is always really serious… What does it take to make you smile, Haru?_, Makoto thinks. It's time to go, and he must not delay it, or won't have the chance to repeat this.

"Well, I should go home, now", he says. "Thank you very much for coming. I'm sorry for my… stupid choice of what to show you. I should have guessed that, coming from the sea, of course you don't care for words."

"Don't be sorry, those were beautiful words", Haru whispers, tilting his head, and Makoto's heart skips a beat, and decides to go back quickly, before he says anything inconvenient.

"Do you think… do you want to meet tomorrow?" he asks, as he has previously planned to do.

"I will be there if you want", is the answer of the merman.

Feeling truly delighted but out of words, Makoto waves him goodbye and swims towards the coast.

* * *

The next day, Makoto extracts a small lunchbox from his fanny pack and places it on Haru's hands. The merman looks at the lunchbox with curiosity, but he doesn't manage to open it. Grinning, Makoto opens it for him.

"Here, see? This is my favourite fish dish… It's tuna."

Haru raises the lunchbox and studies the content, frowning at the diversity of vegetables that come with the tuna. He even smells it before finally saying:

"It's very different from our food! But the smell is delicious. Can I try it?"

"Of course, it is for you!"

Makoto takes out a pair of chopsticks, but of course Haru hasn't waited for them and is already eating, taking small bits of food with his fingers. Makoto finds it really amusing, although he's aware that he would find it disgusting, be it any other person. But everything the merman does is endearing and elegant at Makoto's eyes: the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he tosses his hair out of his face… and the way he swims, of course, that's what Makoto enjoys to watch the most.

Haru has almost finished all the food before he says:

"This is really good! Thank you very much! Have you prepared it?"

Makoto shakes his head.

"No, no, I'm not that good of a cook! I asked my mother to do it, she cooks quite well."

"Thank her too, then."

And he keeps eating in silence. Makoto wonders if Haru lives with his parents, too, but feels that, perhaps, it would be better if the merman himself explained. He doesn't want to push things and make Haru uncomfortable. His worry must have been displayed on his face, because suddenly Haru says, between mouthfuls:

"You are worried about me. Don't be. I don't live with my mother, like you, but I am grown up enough to take care of myself. Besides, the others are always close."

Makoto smiles fondly, and he can see that Haru relaxes as well. Even if he never returns the smiles, Makoto can almost always say when the merman feels calm and nice and when not. And when he is not, there's one thing that never fails to make Haru feel good again.

"Hey, Haru, if you have finished, would you like to race me? Until the protruding rock on the back of the island and back?"

And he can almost _see_ the smile that is not there when Haru places the empty lunchbox on top of the stones and jumps in the water.

* * *

Makoto is hardly an imaginative guy. So, with a sigh, the next morning, being it Sunday, he spends the morning picking small seashells at the beach, and good part of the afternoon turning them into a necklace. Thank God his two little siblings help him, or he would have never finished it in time; shells are tricky to drill. But he is pretty happy with the outcome, and he thinks it will look great around Haru's neck.

This time he arrives first to the stony beach. Haru arrives some minutes later, and Makoto greets him with a wide warm smile. Haru looks at him, seeming a bit puzzled, but Makoto has noticed that sometimes the merman reacts that way when he smiles. Perhaps he finds it strange, seeing that Haru himself never smiles…

Anyway, the puzzled look turns more prominent when Makoto hands him the necklace, first thing. Haru watches it and strokes the shells with his finger, and Makoto starts to worry that perhaps for Haru's folk seashells are sacred, or something like that, and he has committed sacrilege for making a necklace out of them… But Haru's gaze is again relaxed and warm when he looks up again at his friend. He puts the necklace around his neck, fiddling a bit but managing to knot the lace properly before Makoto intervenes. He caresses the tiny shells, but Makoto can tell that he is deep in thought (although he has no idea about what Haru can be worrying about).

"What's wrong?" he asks at last. "You don't have to wear it if you dislike it."

"I like it."

Relieved, Makoto insists:

"What is it, then? Why are you worried?"

The merman seems to be choosing his words, avoiding Makoto's eyes. The boy is now really curious.

"It's just… that every time we meet, you bring me something. And I haven't given you anything in exchange."

"You don't have to", Makoto interrupts, frowning.

"But I want, it's not fair. It's just… that I can't find anything you might like. We don't have many manufactured things and even something simple like this… I just couldn't think of something like this."

Makoto feels his smile widen and his chest turn warm.

"So you have been thinking about things that I might like?"

The merman nods, annoyed, and he looks so cute in Makoto's eyes that he starts to talk before the idea is fully formed on his mind. But that's for the best, because if he has the time to mull over his ideas, he usually ends giving up on them, especially if they are daring. And he definitely doesn't want to give up on this one.

"Haru… in fact there is one thing you could offer me in exchange… I'm not saying you should give me anything just because I gave something to you first; that's not how it works. But if you would like to, you know, just because you feel like it…"

"Yes", Haru cuts him. "It's exactly that, I feel like it."

"… Then you could just kiss me. The way Nagisa kissed me the other day? That would be nice, a nice gift…"

_Oh, god, I'm blushing, I'm a hundred per cent sure. He will laugh at me; no, of course not, it's Haru what we are talking about. He will get angry at me: there_.

But Haru looks at him with a slight frown. Is he considering it?

"You didn't like it when Nagisa kissed you."

Makoto smiles fondly and lets go a quiet chuckle.

"Nagisa took what he wanted without asking for permission first: that's not how things are done. And of course I didn't like it when he tried to drown me". He stares at Haru, suddenly alarmed as the thought crosses his mind. "You won't try to drown me, will you? Do your folk always need to kiss under water?"

"No! No, of course not. I… I already apologised for Nagisa, he didn't do it intentionally… I swear he didn't want to drown you, he was only playing."

"Yes, yes, apologies accepted… So you won't drown me."

His gaze focus on Haru's lovely alluring eyes. The merman keeps his eyes locked with his, while shaking his head in a silent _no_.

"That's good… Fine…" Makoto whispers as he gets closer to Haru and his hand, without his saying so, reaches up to stroke the merman's cheek. Soft. Wet. Beautiful.

Their lips meet with a soft bump, but is okay. Because Makoto can move his lips until he finds how to do it without bumping theirs noses, and then he loses the awareness of what exactly is he doing or where his hands are, because all he can feel are Haru's lips rubbing against his, and Haru's hands placed with a certain shyness on his waist. He sighs, and Haru gasps, and Makoto wants to do it again, wants to make Haru gasp, and he loses another grade of self-control and grabs Haru's face between his two hands, forcing the merman's mouth open and letting himself get lost completely in the warm-teeth-tongue-lips-ohGod-gums-saliva-wetness.

And his last coherent thoughts while the kiss lasts are: _Haru loves_ _monotony: the same actions, the same food, the same faces. He is all about routine. BUT he has already made me a place inside that routine: he didn't like before coming to the rocky island to watch the humans, though now he comes every day to see this particular human… Can I turn this new routine into one that lasts forever? Can I imprint my person in this fairy tale creature's life?_

When he parts from Haru a few inches to regain his breath, the merman's eyes shine like sapphires in the golden light, and when he smiles a lazy warm smile he could swear that Haru holds onto him a bit tighter, as if unsure that his… tail? will hold him upright. So he decides that the answer to his mental question is a most definitely _Perhaps, yes, why not!_


End file.
